The word “free” has a nice ring to it, especially when writers are involved. While there are an inexhaustible number of workshops, retreats and conferences targeting authors and budding writers, most will do a number on your wallet. If you’re not in a position to fork over a couple hundred dollars, you may feel there are no resources available to you. Fortunately, that’s not the case.

One of the best ways for writers to self-educate (without leaving the house) is through webinars. As the name implies, a webinar is a sort of seminar held online, usually some cross between a slide show and audio presentation. While many come with a price tag, there are a number of webinars available at no cost. Another great perk: many of these have already aired and have been archived away, ready for you to hit play at your own convenience. That means you can decide when you want to learn and move at your own pace. Whether you want to get updated on new technology or refresh your memory on old techniques, there’s something available right now online that can add to your writer’s toolbox.

We’ve scoured the Internet for the best free webinars aimed at writers, and below we’ve compiled a list of our favorites. Happy learning!

Here’s a great tutorial on e-book publishing and marketing. You’ll learn the basics of formatting and design, distribution, and selling strategies for Amazon. This webinar aired in October 2013 and is available for viewing whenever you want!

A number of wonderful, free (or cheap) webinars are available online thanks to the Houston Writers Guild. The topic of creating community among writers is particularly important and rarely discussed, which is why we were thrilled to discover this fantastic free webinar. It’s already been uploaded and ready to view whenever the mood strikes you. While you’re at it, check out Houston Writers Guilds’ other free webinars.

While the thought of writing a grant proposal may not tickle your fancy, it’s a skill that’s highly sought after and could land you a job. Sis an excellent way to translate your writing abilities into a full-time career. If you’d like to get a better grasp of what it’s all about, this is the webinar for you.

Get insider tips on structuring your movie script and tailoring it for your audience. You’ll also learn how to market your screenplay using a logline, your one-line pitch. If you’re interested in screenwriting or looking to broaden your knowledge base, you can access this webinar for free and watch it on-demand.

Holy smokes, my cookbook will be out in one month! That is pretty crazy. I figure that some of you would like to see a little more about the book before committing to buy – I don’t blame you, I’d want the same thing – so here is a list of every recipe in the book, as well as some pretty pictures to look at.

Some longtime readers may notice recipes that I’ve already published here on the site; don’t worry – every dish in the book has been redeveloped from scratch, so every taste you encounter will be new!

The Evenarian is an original fantasy novel written by me, Julia Dickinson. I worked in journalism for six years, but every day after work, I would do creative writing, receiving positive reviews when I posted my work online. In July 2012, I made the leap to being a full-time author and began writing The Evenarian, with the goal of getting it published.

Now, The Evenarian’s manuscript is finished and, thanks to my previous Kickstarter, professionally copy-edited. But now I need YOUR help to land a great literary agent!

Just as promised, I used the money raised from The Evenarian’s previous Kickstarter to hire a professional copy editor. The copy editor made lots of good changes, gave me tons of helpful feedback and declared my writing style and overall story to be very engaging (yay!).

Now comes the next hurdle: finding an agent to represent the book. This is harder than it sounds. Since most publishers no longer accept manuscripts directly from authors, today’s ambitious author must go through a literary agent. But that means the dreaded “slush pile” has simply moved from the publisher’s mailroom to the agent’s inbox.

How can an author cut through the clutter and make their book stand out? Simple: by working with a literary consultant to make their agent submission package as professional, polished and attractive as possible. The aim of this Kickstarter is to raise funds to hire such a consultant and take The Evenarian to the next level!

What is The Evenarian’s story about?

Turo, a young mage in training, lives in a land called the Kingsrealm, where magic and prophecy control everything from from the building of majestic cities to the simple task of drawing water from a well. Turo is happily pursuing his magic studies until he finds a strange travelers wandering just outside his cloister walls. The wayfarer is named Josh, and he claims he’s trying to stop a dangerous man foretold in prophecy, known only as the Evenarian. According to Josh, the Evenarian will cause the downfall of magic and the ruin of the world as Turo knows it.

A series of tragic events convinces Turo to leave his cloistered life and join Josh’s quest to uncover the Evenarian’s identity and stop this dangerous man. The duo soon meets a crafty young woman named Elena. A diplomat from the southern land of Sone, Elena’s loyalties lie with her government and her own powerful family. But as conflicts erupt around them, her fate intertwines with Josh and Turo’s. Now, the unlikely companions are launched onto a journey that crosses a continent divided: in the north, the half-tamed wilderness of Kingsrealm, where ancient tribes are ruled by a crumbling dynasty; and in the lush south, Sone, a guileful empire governed by an intrigue-filled senate.

Hot on the Evenarian’s trail, our heroes begin to see the mystery man’s influence everywhere: Common folk are challenging age-old beliefs, so-called heretics are persecuted in droves, and conflicts of ideas are leading to very real conflagrations. With war on the horizon, Josh, Turo and Elena find themselves in a race against time to find the Evenarian and save history… But the truth about magic may upend all they’ve worked for, and everything Josh and Turo believe.

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There is a wonderful exhibit of children’s book illustrations currently on display at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. It features works by dozens of artists from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators of Western Washington. The exhibit lines the walls of Level 2, and there is no admission. I loved this art — so colorful and whimsical. If you are downtown with your family during the upcoming holiday season, I urge you to stop by for some delightful art sure to please people of all ages.

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With more than 50,000 copies of PERMISSION TO…BOOKS sold, PERMISSION TO NAP, won the distinguished “Award of Excellence” from the Chicago Book Clinic and the ‘Benjamin Franklin Award’ by the Publishers Marketing Association.

Articles about PERMISSION TO NAP appeared in: Redbook, USA Today, Better Homes & Gardens, American West In-flight Magazine, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Sun Times, and the international spa magazine, Pulse, to name a few.